Tomorrow Is Lent!

Dear friends in Christ, tomorrow is Ash Wednesday, the first day in the Holy Season of Lent. "Lent?" you say? What dat? Well... Lent is a Holy Season of the Church Year lasting 40 days. It's a season during which Christians pay particularly close attention (even more than usual!) to Jesus going to the cross for sinners and taking the opportunity to receive even more of Christ's gifts to us in Word and Sacraments.
The season of Lent has a rich history in the church. First of all, there's all the "40" associations that come to mind from the Bible... In the Old Testament, there's the 40 days and nights that rained during the Flood. There's the 40 years that the Children of Israel wandered about in the wastelands on their way to Promised Land. There's the 40 days of repentance which the city of Ninevah undertook upon hearing God's Word through His prophet Jonah. In the New Testament, there's Jesus fasting and praying 40 days in the wilderness and being tempted by the devil. There's the 40 days after Jesus rose on Easter until He ascended into heaven.
40 was apparently an important number in the Bible. But did you notice? All of these "40s" had a component of reflection and devotion in the Church Year. Taking up that theme, the 40 days of Lent was created by the Early Church as a time to remember that we, God's people, are still in the "wilderness" of this life and our Lord is there taking care of us.
A good idea... But, as sinners are wont to do, as time went by, Lent gradually became a season that was less about Jesus and more about "me!" When sinners pulled a big whopper, the priests would say that they could only come back into the church after a time of fasting and prayer. That was the main part of Lent: the "penitents," the people who had really blown it, were working their way back into the good graces of the Church. In other words, over time Lent ended up having more to do with people trying to overcome their sins than Jesus overcoming them for us!
So, among the Lutherans, after the Reformation, Lent was again given its place as a time to focus and rejoice on the suffering and death of Jesus for our sins. Sure, we think about our sins because they caused Jesus to go to the cross. But we rejoice that He went to the cross to take away our sins. Think of Lent as the time to pay close attention to what exactly Jesus has done for you. In Lent, we have more opportunities to hear the Good News that Jesus is our Savior and to receive His holy gifts of absolution and His body and blood. Here at Hope on Wednesdays during our Midweek Services (1:00 & 7:00 p.m.), we will focusing specifically on the Passion Account, as we go through a six week series on the Passion of Christ, according to the Gospel of St. Mark.
But beware! Many people, when they hear "Lent," only hear "giving something up." Some people give up chocolate for Lent. Some give up TV or candy or other things they like. But... WHY do people give things up? It has to do with the tradition of fasting. Fasting means having less of something or giving something up. That's a good idea if there's something that you really like so much it consumes you. If something in your life fits the bill, then use this Lententide to give it a rest and learn to live by God's Word rather than the things you love more than God's Word.
But, again, beware! Some people think the point of giving something up in Lent is to deny themselves some pleasure and so make themselves more sad or mopey. You can tell when this is happening when someone uses every opportunity to tell everyone under the sun what they've given up for Lent. Remember: Lent isn't about YOU. It's about Jesus. If you want to give something up, give it up so you can have more Jesus not because Jesus will like you if you stop eating ice cream or give up coffee!
Anyway, that's all I have to say about Lent (for now!) It's a solemn season, but not a joyless one. After all, how can we fail to rejoice when our Lord is headed to Calvary for our sins? He died and rose for us and that makes Lent a really great time of year! 40 days of what, you say? 40 days of Jesus all for you! This article borrows heavily from here. SDG!